Daddy/Daughter Evening

[ed. note: I was looking at the backend of the blog and realized I have only posted once during the month of June. Once! No wonder I’ve received a ton of emails asking where I’ve been (well, not a ton… it’d be a ton if they weighed over 300lbs. apiece). My excuse: I was called out of town unexpectedly last week and then I had my polyp-ectomy (polyp removal for you non-medical types) Wednesday. I promise to try not to drop my posts again.]

P.Pie had her twin loss support meeting last night, so The Squeaker and I had a little Daddy/Daughter time.

Initially, I thought Squeaker would want to do something special – cook me dinner, fold my clean clothes, let me beat her at a video game… something. But no.

As it turns out, I still had to do all work.

We started the evening with a little lap and floor playtime. Lap playtime consists of a monkey-see, monkey-do sort of game – the tongue goes out, the tongue goes in and the eyeballs roll around. Nostrils flare as strange grunts and mews emanate from somewhere in the back of the throat.

Actually, it’s really more a case of monkey-see, monkey-laugh. She might stick her tongue out occasionally, but the rest is all me. Floor playtime is more Squeaker directed, with a few licks and sniffs from The Beej.

All told, it’s about 45 minutes of Daddy doofusness playtime. Then it’s on to the bouncy chair as Dad preps dinner.

This evening’s fare is simple, familiar, and nutritious – breast milk.

The preparation deserves a little mention; P.Pie and I have discovered that if you leave the crockpot with a little water in it on low, it makes for a quick bottle warmer upper for the 2am feeding or when the source is at book club.

There are three general types of bottle nipples – slow, medium, and fast (pretty self-explanatory, even for the uninitiated). I am a member of the ‘fast’ camp. P.Pie, on the other hand, is a slow to medium supporter. You may be in that camp as well, but hear me out.

I like the fast nipple because it gets the most milk down Squeaker’s gullet, thus giving her the most nutrients as well as longest sleep time (bonus!). If I were to feed her with a slow nipple, she’d be out after three ounces and consequently awake in a couple of hours. BUT, with the fast nipple, she gets through the entire six ounces and doubles her sleep time.

Anyway, after the feeding Squeaker gets a short-lived boost of energy. She could climb Mt. Everest, as long as base camp was at 29, 000 ft.

So we do an abbreviated version of the lap/floor playtime and then it’s time to say hello to the swing. After a few minutes in said swings, she’s out like a headlight on a ’78 Ford.

As I swaddle her in a baby burrito-esque blanket and deposit her in her crib, it hits me; for doing all the work, I sure had a great time.